MISLEADING NEWS about a recent COLON CANCER SCREENING TRIAL in the New England Journal of Medicine
October 23, 2022TARA TROY, M.D. Gastroenterologist
We have received many questions about the media’s presentation of data from a recent New England Journal of Medicine article regarding the benefits of colonoscopy for reducing risks of colon cancer and death. CNN Health’s coverage suggested that colonoscopy provides only a limited reduction in the risk of colon cancer and death in a trial performed in several European countries without recognizing incredibly important features of the study design. This was particularly maddening to the gastroenterology community who know that colon cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death and quality surveillance with colonoscopies can reduce an individual’s risk by 40-90%!
There is a link to an excellent letter from the American College of Gastroenterology detailing the limitations of the trial’s design. An example of the most important and glaring design flaw: the authors compared individuals OFFERED a colonoscopy against those who were not offered a colonoscopy – only 42% of those patients offered a colonoscopy actually had it completed! It is very challenging for a preventative screening test to prevent a cancer if the majority of patients choose not to do it!! “Overall, the study found that just inviting people to get a colonoscopy didn’t have a large beneficial impact across these countries, partly because so many people didn’t do it.”
In addition, they presented data after 5 years – it takes most colon cancers longer than 5 years to develop – that is like determining a marathon winner after the first mile. The links below provide far more eloquent responses than I – please take time to read them and feel reassured of the value that colonoscopy provides in reducing your risk of colon cancer.
American College of Gastroenterology letter to CNN:
If you need an appointment for your colon cancer screening or to discuss any other gastrointestinal concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our office at 224.407.4400.
Here is a link to the original article:
NEJM editorial:
CNN coverage: